Capture.Study vs Castor EDC: Which Fits Your Study?
Castor is a cloud EDC built for academic and investigator-initiated trials. Here is where it and Capture.Study overlap, and where they differ, so you can pick with your own study in mind.
Who This Comparison Is For
Castor and Capture.Study both target the same broad audience: academic researchers, small biotech, and CROs who do not want an enterprise EDC contract. This page is for you if:
You are currently evaluating Castor
- Comparing cloud EDC options before committing
- Want ePRO and eConsent in the same platform as EDC
- Running an investigator-initiated or academic trial
You already use Castor
- Want to test a self-serve, AI-assisted alternative for your next study
- Looking for randomization and eConsent in the same audit trail as your CRFs
Quick Comparison Table
| Feature | Capture.Study | Castor EDC |
|---|---|---|
| Free sandbox with every feature, no sales call | Free tier for investigator-initiated trials | |
| AI drafts CRFs from a protocol or description | Manual form building | |
| ePRO built into the same platform | ||
| eConsent built into the same platform | ||
| Randomization built in | ||
| One audit trail across EDC, ePRO and eConsent | Varies by module | |
| Live, in-app casebook for data entry and sign-off | PDF export only, on request | |
| 21 CFR Part 11-aligned controls | ||
| Public, self-serve pricing to start | Contact sales for paid tiers |
We built this table from each vendor's own public documentation. If anything here is out of date, let us know.
Getting Started
Castor offers a free tier aimed at investigator-initiated trials, with paid tiers for larger studies sold through its sales team. Capture.Study is self-serve at every tier: you build and test a full study in a free sandbox with no time limit and no credit card, and only talk to us if you want to.
If you want to start building today without a sales conversation, that is where Capture.Study is fastest. If you already have Castor institutional access set up, switching mid-study is rarely worth the disruption.
Building and Changing Forms
Both platforms let you build case report forms without a programmer. Capture.Study adds AI drafting on top: describe a form or upload a spreadsheet and the AI proposes the questions or a lab table for you to review, rather than starting from a blank form every time.
Capture.Study
AI-drafted forms and lab tables, edit checks that raise auto-queries, calculated fields, and a draft-to-approved lifecycle with a field-level audit trail.
Castor EDC
A visual form builder with branching logic, validation rules and a form library, built up over more than a decade of academic and clinical use.
The Casebook
A casebook is the complete set of case report forms for a participant, organized by visit. In Capture.Study it is a live, in-app screen: site staff enter data directly into it, monitors verify and query it, and the principal investigator signs it off, all in real time.
Castor's Participant Casebook works differently: it is a PDF export, generated on request through Castor support, limited to 10 participants per batch. It is a snapshot of the data, not a live workspace you enter, verify or sign off in.
Why this matters
A live casebook means data entry, source verification and sign-off happen in one continuously updated place. A PDF-export casebook is a document you generate afterward, not a workspace your team works in day to day.
eConsent and ePRO
Castor added eConsent and ePRO as modules on top of its original EDC product over time. Capture.Study was built with EDC, eConsent and ePRO sharing one participant record and one audit trail from the start, so consent status can gate downstream data entry automatically.
Compliance
Castor has a long track record in regulated academic and clinical research, including CE-marked and FDA-cleared studies. Capture.Study provides 21 CFR Part 11-aligned controls today: a field-level audit trail that cannot be edited from the app, OTP-verified electronic signatures with countersignature, and role-based access control. We provide documentation to support your own validation on Enterprise plans.
Pricing
Castor publishes a free tier for investigator-initiated trials and routes larger studies to its sales team for a quote. Capture.Study includes a free sandbox for every study size, with paid plans that scale as you go live, published without a sales call required to see them.
When Castor Might Be the Better Fit
You need a track record in large, regulated academic consortia
Castor has been used across a large number of academic and multi-center studies over more than a decade. If your institution already runs on Castor, that history carries weight with your ethics committee.
You need deep, longstanding integrations
Castor has built out integrations and an API over many years. If your study depends on a specific existing integration, check it is available before switching.
When Capture.Study Is the Better Choice
You want to build and test before any sales conversation
Every feature is available in the free sandbox. Build your real study, test edit checks and e-signatures, and only pay when you go live.
You want AI to draft your first form or lab table
Upload a protocol, a spreadsheet or a description, and start from a structured draft instead of a blank form.
You want one audit trail across EDC, ePRO, eConsent and randomization
One participant record, one login, one export, instead of reconciling data across modules.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Capture.Study a Castor alternative?
Yes. Both are cloud EDC platforms aimed at academic and early-phase research. Capture.Study adds AI-assisted form building and a fully self-serve free sandbox with no sales call required to start.
Can I try Capture.Study before switching from Castor?
Yes. Build a full study with sample data in the free sandbox, with no time limit and no credit card, and compare it directly against your current Castor project.
Does Capture.Study import data or forms from Castor?
We do not currently support a direct import from Castor's format. Forms are typically rebuilt in the visual builder, which AI drafting speeds up, and historical data is merged during analysis.
Is Capture.Study 21 CFR Part 11-aligned like Castor?
Yes. Capture.Study provides a field-level audit trail, OTP-verified electronic signatures with countersignature, and role-based access control, with documentation to support sponsor validation on Enterprise plans.
Ready to Compare for Yourself?
Free sandbox with no time limit. Build your study and test everything before paying a dollar.
No credit card required. No sales calls.